Okay, this is my first story on here, so give it a chance please! I decdicate it to my bestest friend and other half Tara, without whom I probably would have lost interest and given up on this. I love ya!
Anyway, this follows the Marauder's, Lily, and her friends Sam and Saige through life after Hogwarts.
All reviews welcome, even flames! Just warn me if I'm gonna need a fire extinguisher...
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to HP. I'm not even sure I can take credit for Sam and Saige since I based them off people I know.
On with the show!
Marauder's Anatomy
Behind every successful woman...is a substantial amount of coffee.
--Stephanie Piro
She woke up to the sound of . . . nothing. It was completely silent. This was extremely rare, considering she shared and apartment with James Potter. He was the loudest and most obnoxious morning person she had ever laid eyes on.
James, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew had been best friends since being shoved into the same compartment on the Hogwarts Express their first year at Hogwarts. Lily Evans, Saige Grey, and Samantha Atherton had been the same way. After graduating, they all faced the daunting task of finding some place to live. Peter went back to his parents' house, but the others were ready to be on their own. The obvious solution was for the three boys to get and apartment and the three girls to get a separate one. However, the two bedroom flats were cheaper than the three, even when the rent was split three ways. The girls agreed that it was more important to keep the boys apart that to keep themselves together. So the boys drew names to learn which girl they were rooming with. Remus chose Lily's name, which worked out perfectly. They had similar working habits and would not get irritated with each other. They also had a common love of chocolate. Upon drawing Saige's name, Sirius wrapped a long arm around her neck with a gleeful smile on his face. Saige groaned. Sirius was, if nothing else, destructive. This match left Samantha with James. She didn't mind. She and James usually got a long. She liked noise.
Except early in the morning. She decided not to question the silence. She was still in that moment right after waking where every position is unbelievably comfortable and the world seems unbelievably perfect. She snuggled deeper into her pillow, enjoying the warmth.
"SLEIGHBELLS RING! ARE YOU LISTENING? IN THE LANE, SNOW IS GLISTENING! A BEAUTIFUL SIGHT! WE'RE HAPPY-"
Samantha groaned. James had apparently decided that it was time for the world to be awake. He had turned on the wireless full blast and was singing along at the top of his lungs. Samantha was jolted out of her perfect moment. She cringed. I've got to make it stop! her mind screamed. Refusing to open her eyes, she threw a pillow in the general direction of the door. In her sleepy state, she missed entirely and hit a stack of books instead. They crashed to the floor and her wand, which had been sitting on top, let out a series of noises and sparks.
The music abruptly stopped. She fell back into her pillows with a sigh of relief. The feeling ended as a new noise made her sit bolt upright. James was pounding on the door.
"SAM! SAM! Are you alright? Open the damn door!"
Blinking rapidly, Sam fumbled to the door and yanked it open. James was standing there, looking frantic and still yelling.
"Shut the hell up," she murmured. His mouth immediately snapped shut. "Have you lost your bloody mind? It is way too early for singing. And pounding. And whatever else you were doing. Now, unless you come bearing gifts of coffee, I suggest you leave me in peace and go about your morning. Quietly. Thank you."
He nodded.
"What do you mean, 'yes?' Yes what?"
"Yes, I made coffee," he whispered, grinning. He took her small hand and pulled her down the hall into the kitchen. Pressing a mug into her hands, he pushed her into a chair. She pulled her knees to her chest and sipped at the steaming liquid. French vanilla coffee slipped easily down her throat, soothing the rough effects of a cold night.
"You are a god."
"And you, my dear, are a goddess. Well, you don't look much the part, but appearances can be deceiving."
She took another sip of coffee before getting up and heading into the bathroom. She almost laughed when she saw her reflection in the mirror. Her light brown wavy hair was pulled into a rather messy ponytail at the crown of her head. Strands had escaped their confinements and were hanging randomly in her face. She had faint circles under her blue-green eyes. She had apparently fallen asleep while writing, for there was an imprint of a quill on her right cheek. A worn gray shirt that read Gryffindor Quidditch in curling gold letters covered her torso. She also wore a pair of oversized light gray sweatpants reading Gryffindor where a left pocket would have been. She had stolen them from Sirius ages ago.
Sam walked back into the kitchen and announced, "I think I look ravishing!"
"So do I," he mumbled distractedly. "Check it out," he said pointing to a newspaper. "You made front page."
Her eyes widened as she looked. She skimmed and article that she had written, that her mind had formed, that her hand had put to paper. At the very end was a small picture of her, her hair at its shiniest, her eyes at their brightest, her lips at their fullest, her chin at its proudest. Underneath it, in small, neat black print was her name: Samantha Giannine Atherton.
Sam started jumping up and down, shrieking in delight. James laughed and pulled her into a hug.
"For the love of Merlyn! I can't believe it! They didn't even tell me! YAY!"
"Congratulations, Sammie dearest! I always knew you were good for something."
"Gee thanks, darling. Love you too. Oh oh oh! I have to go see the others!"
"Go get changed. I'm going to frame this."
Sam rushed into her room. She pulled on a pair of black tights that stopped just below her knees. Over them, she pulled on a pair of green shorts. After donning a blue tank and her warm black fleece pullover, she fixed her ponytail and struggled to pull on her sneakers as she stumbled out the door. She went back into the bathroom and quickly brushed her teeth. Blowing a kiss to James, she exploded through the front door.
She was hit with a blast of cold air. Right, it's December. It's freezing. No matter, she thought. She carefully climbed down the icy stairs of the flat. Once she reached the bottom, she pulled out from her pullover a pair of mittens, a scarf, and earmuffs. She put them on and took off running down the freshly cleared sidewalk.
Two miles. That's how far away Sirius and Saige lived. That's how far Sam was going to run. As her lungs filled themselves with icy air, she briefly wondered why she hadn't simply apparated. But she knew the answer. There was something about running that was exhilarating. It was as if you just kept going, nothing could stop you, nothing could touch you. You're free and the sky's the limit.
Her feet were barely touching the ground. She felt as though she were flying. She didn't want to stop, but she was nearing her destination, so she slowed considerably. Racing up the stairs to the flat, she caught herself before she fell. She pulled out her key and burst through the door.
Saige was sitting on the couch with a mug of steaming coffee. She was the one that had gotten Lily and Sam addicted to the stuff. Saige's thick blonde hair fell just past her waist and her bangs were in her face. Her jade green eyes went from sleepy to excited in an instant as soon as Sam opened the door. No one's expressions changed as often as Saige's. Her moods were just as quick to vary. It kept people on their toes.
Saige slid her coffee onto a table before rushing to throw her arms around Sam.
"FRONT PAGE!" she squealed, jumping up and down. "I knew you could do it! I knew it. My little Sam is growing up so fast. Before you know it, she'll have her own column. Her own talk show! I'd better be your first guest star, babe, or you shall feel my wrath."
"Planning a little in advance? It's only my first front page article. I'm not going anywhere for a while yet."
"But you will. I see bright things in your future! You will be a star! Now go tell Sirius how wonderful you are. He's in his room."
Sam raced down the hall to Sirius' room. She flung open the door and leapt onto his bed. She sank into the covers and yelped. Rolling over, she discovered that she had landed on the corner of a book. Rubbing her side, she looked around. Sirius was not, if fact, in his room.
"SAIGE!" she bellowed.
"SHUT UP!" was the response. "It's coffee time!"
Sam laughed and sank into the pillows. They smelled like Sirius. His room smelled like him. Or maybe he smelled like his room. She gazed at the pictures adorning his walls. Pictures of the seven of them at Hogwarts comprised most of them. James and Sirius having a pillow fight, Remus eating chocolate and reading, Sam, Saige, and Lily dancing in their pajamas, Peter sleeping as James draws a mustache on his face, Remus and Saige playing wizard's chess, Lily trying to get James to do his homework, and Sirius tickling Sam mercilessly.
Sam got up. There was no use sitting around waiting for Sirius to arrive. She walked back into the living room where Saige was reading the paper.
"Mind if I shower? I'm kinda icky."
"No problem," Saige replied, glancing up. "You know where my clothes are. Just make sure I get them back eventually."
Sam nodded and entered Saige's room. Slightly messy and covered with the most random things, it fit Saige perfectly. There were books on healing, since Saige was a student in medical school. Records and posters of bands covered her walls. Sketches that she had done were scattered across the room. She was a girl of many talents.
Sam opened the closet and pulled out a pair of jeans and a sweater. She went into the bathroom to shower. When she finished, she dressed and looked at herself in the mirror. She looked like a drowned rat. She yanked open a drawer of Saige's make-up. She applied some eyeliner, mascara, and lip gloss. She ran a comb through her hair and magically dried it.
"Samantha Atherton! I know you're here! There's no use in hiding!"
Sam ran out the room and back down the hall. Sirius Black was standing in the living room with his trademark lopsided grin. Sam rushed into his arms and he spun her around.
"Front page, front page, front page," he sang. Sam laughed as he put her down.
"Thank you, thank you," she said, bowing dramatically.
"This calls for a celebration!" Sirius exclaimed, jumping onto the couch. In a loud voice, he announced to Sam and Saige, "Tonight, in honour of the great accomplishment achieved by one Samantha Giannine Atherton, we will attend the Seven Hundred and Fifty Third Annual Ministry of Magic Christmas Eve Ball, hosted by none other than the Minister of Magic himself!"
"All for me?" Sam asked innocently.
"All for you!" he told her, jumping off the couch as Saige just laughed. He took Sam's hands and looked into her eyes. He had a playful grin on his face. "I hope you will grant me the honour of being your personal arm candy for the night?"
"I dunno, Sam. Maybe you should think about this. That guy working at the flower shop has had his eyes on you," Saige remarked, with a gleam in her eyes.
"WHAT?" Sirius shouted in mock outrage. "How dare someone look at you without having been granted my royal permission?"
He pulled out his wand and aimed it at the coat rack, standing alone on the corner. "On garde! 'Ow dare you even zink about 'er!" he yelled in a ridiculous French accent, sending harmless curses at the coat rack. "Take zat! And zat! Ha-ha! You are nozing but a silly- Ah ha! You zought you were a match for me?" he asked as the coat rack toppled over. He stepped on its "neck", defeating it.
"Oh! My hero!" Sam exclaimed, rushing over. "I would love to go to the ball with someone as incredibly strong and amazingly brave as you!"
"Don't forget devastatingly handsome," he said.
"I thought that went without saying."
"You two are positively ridiculous," Saige interjected.
"Why thank you for noticing!" Sirius replied gratefully. "One does one's best, you understand."
Sirius ducked the pillow that had suddenly decided to fly at his head, just as he had many pillows before.
So that's the first chapter! I have the next few chapters written already, but I think I might wait for a reaction from readers to update. Or maybe just some encouragement from my Other Half. Cookies to anyone that reviews!